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USF beats Bemidji State behind huge third quarter push

Josh Angulo dove to his left, caught the low throw from Corbin Lawler and bolted. He sprinted out of the end zone, along the sideline and up to the leftmost set of benches, where the Cougars gather with their coordinators between series.

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Josh Angulo dove to his left, caught the low throw from Corbin Lawler and bolted. He sprinted out of the end zone, along the sideline and up to the leftmost set of benches, where the Cougars gather with their coordinators between series. Angulo yanked off his helmet, stood up on the bench and faced the crowd with his arms outstretched.

USF, strangely enough, was losing at the time. Bemidji State, ranked No. 22 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll, had come into Bob Young Field, sliced the Cougars' defense up with their creative high-speed spread attack -- scoring three touchdowns on their first four offensive possessions -- and held USF's offense down. The Beavers led 20-3 at halftime.

The Cougars wound up winning, 37-36. The action in between gave the crowd at Bob Young Field every emotion on the spectrum.

Cougars head coach Jed Stugart gathered the team at halftime and, rather than ripping into them, told them what he called the "story." Bemidji State was typically a fast starter, scoring most of their points in the first half. The Cougars, in their first three games of the year, had performed their best in the third quarter. The Cougars had just 10 fewer yards of total offense than the Beavers in the first half -- they had just struggled with penalties, turnovers and failing to finish in the red zone. The circumstances were not as bleak as they seemed.

"I said, 'All we've got to do is get a touchdown, and we're going to be back in this thing,'" Stugart said. "And then I leave them alone."

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On the first play of the half, USF running back Max Mickey took an option pitch to the right, found a hole and dashed 75 yards for a score, delivering a vicious stiff-arm to beat the last defender. The Cougars had finally found the end zone, and their confidence swelled. Angulo caught the pass from Lawler on the sixth play of the next drive, and the momentum was decisively flowing their way. After a quick defensive stop and three more offensive plays, Angulo caught another touchdown pass, and USF had the lead.

"When Max scored that long run, I don't think I've ever had a jolt of energy like that come from a crowd," Angulo said. "It was awesome, man."

The Cougars scored 34 points in the third quarter, with another Angulo catch and a 46-yard run from quarterback Luke Papilion providing the cappers.

Bemidji State didn't go silently, scoring on a two-yard run on an untimed down to end the third quarter -- which came after one of USF's 16 penalties, which went for 160 yards -- and then a one-yard quarterback keeper with 17 seconds left in the game. But the Beavers went for the two-point conversion, and while Juwaan Richard looked to have space on a sweep left and got close to the goal line with his lean, the ball popped loose and the try failed.

The Cougars further proved their case of being one of the top offenses in the country, finishing with 636 yards of total offense on 83 plays. Mickey had 207 yards rushing on 14 carries, and Angulo tied Kalen DeBoer's school record with 15 catches, which netted him 164 yards and three touchdowns.

USF moved to 4-0 with the win. The Cougars start their NSIC South slate next week against Augustana, who lost at Minnesota-Duluth on Friday to drop to 3-1.